Henry Rifle Forums

I thought I’d share my biggest hobby, besides firearms, rescuing Siberian Huskies. I’ve had 14 pass through here in the last 3 years. Below are my permanent resident, ones I have claimed for my own.

First here’s Thunder Puppy. Thunder Puppy is one of 5 brothers. 4 of which are permanent residents. They are all 10 months old now. Their parents were dumped off with us and these boys were born here on New Year’s Day. The boys were genetically tested and are 100% Siberian. No known genetic defects.

Thunder has little big dog syndrome. He’s been known to start a lot of brawls, sometimes, multiple opponents. He’s tough but the smallest of the males.

Then there’s Maverick, one of the 4 brothers. Maverick has a chip on his shoulder a lot of the time. He doesn’t like other dogs in his personal space. He growls a lot but that’s about as far as it goes.


Then, we have Loki. He’s 3. He came to us through a mutual friend that talked his owners into releasing him to me at the ranch. He was horribly under weight, never had his vaccinations (I’m assuming never saw a vet either). Was chained up in a garage. By his initial behavior, I’m assuming abused. Took a two weeks before he’d let me touch him without fear. This was him a few days ago, looking good and with a 14% body weight gain in the not quite 3 months he’s been here. He has a little ways to go but I’m proud of how far he has come. He just needed someone to give him an honest chance.

This is Tank, aka “Tater Dog”. One of the 4 brothers. He’s a big boy. My boys don’t think he’s too bright, hence his nickname. I think he’s plenty smart, it’s just his goofy nature. Kindest boy in the bunch.

This is Jack Frost. Jack was the largest of the brothers. Largest of his litter actually. He’s built like a Thoroughbred. He fast, smart and gentle. If Lucky Girl wasn’t here, he’d be the #1 candidate for alpha without question.

Lucky Girl. She was the first, now almost 4. She’s 93.5% Siberian Husky, 6.5% unknown. I assume the unknown is likely wolf due to her sheer size and the way she moves. She is nearly 2x the size of the average female Siberian, tipping the scales at 80lbs. She is one of a kind and the most loyal, affectionate of the bunch. She’s a daddy’s girl.

For size comparison, this is Lucky checking out Miss Stella who recently had a short stay with us.

Miss Raven. She is the newest permanent resident. Raven was found running wild with another. Neither had chips or tags, no collars either. She was too adorable and lovable to let her go anywhere. The male she was with had to be rehomed immediately. He was viscous toward the other males. I’m assuming he must have run into some trouble while running wild. We assume he was protecting the female.

I think they are beautiful dogs, congratulations on having the patience to work with them. We have taken in a few abused dogs over the years and know what a challenge it can be. I have always loved their bright blue eyes.

My goodness, Bunch of beautiful dogs.
I'd hate to see that feed bill.
Had a Alaskan Malamute once, pretty smart he was.
Thanks for sharing.

RP

All beautiful! I liked the little story on each one. Thanks for introducing them to us.

That’s a nice lineup of some beautiful dogs. Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and write the stories.

As a buddy at work used to say, “It’s a dogs world and we’re just passing thru”.

Vaquero wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 06, 2022 6:15 am

My goodness, Bunch of beautiful dogs.
I'd hate to see that feed bill.
Had a Alaskan Malamute once, pretty smart he was.
Thanks for sharing.

RP

$300 every 2 weeks. Roughly $1/lb for the Diamond Naturals. That breaks down to about $22/week per dog.

Each rescue comes with its own set of bills. Spay/neuter about $130, vaccinations and initial checkup $50-$60. $65 for 6 mo of wormer. $35 each summer for flea/tick treatment. (August - Sept I spent between $2500-$3000 at the vet). $130 for a perimeter collar. $25 for a real collar with a buckle to attach the receiver to. That gets replaced every 4 months when they get groomed.

Grooming is $80/dog 3 times a year. That’s $60 at a discount and I leave the girls $20 tip each dog. Unfortunately, that’s a necessity with Siberians due to shedding alone. But she cleans out their ears to prevent infections, trims their nails, gives them a bath (which is a challenge).

Last time Jack Frost got a bath, he stole the sprayer, jumped out of the tub and soaked the entire back room. Then when getting dry, he didn’t like the dryer so he dodge under a table, groomer was still attached to the leash, so she went under with him, taking the table down along the way. Nearly broke her arm in the process. He was never mean, he just didn’t like it so he was trying to get away the entire time . Should have heard her tell it . He is a sweet boy but he’s a card.

I am going to the animal shelter sometime tomorrow, probably. When animal control was out here helping, her eyes got real big and said she never knew this place was out here, then begged me to come look at a female she had in lockup. Least I can do is go out there and evaluate her since they sent two out to help trap Stella the other day, which took 4 hours to catch.

Oh, yeah, I spend the $200 to get a full genetic profile on each dog so I have a heads up about potential genetic disorders that may come up in the present or future.

They may be orphans when they come here but they get the best treatment I can afford to give them.

Here are some before and after coming to the ranch shots. It’s one thing to have an improvement on quality of life but it’s another when you can literally see the difference in the animals.

These are pictures of Loki’s transformation in just 83 days. Keep in mind, this boy died on the operating table and wasn’t breathing for 28 minutes during that surgery. It was touch and go for a while. He lost a few lbs during that time because he was barely eating but we got him back on his feet. That happened a month after being here.

He went from wearing one of the old puppy collars to wearing the same size as the 4 brothers.



If you look closely in this pic at the top, you can see the vertebrae in his spine and see all of his ribs. The pic at the bottom, he was soaking wet from playing in the rain that morning. You can see how much thicker and stronger his back is now.



This is Lucky after a couple years on the ranch.


In short, they get to reach their real potential out here. They are well fed and cared for. They have 5 acres to themselves to run and play every day, all day.

Yep, a picture is worth a thousand words. Love that name Loki and Lucky certainly is.

Thank-you for the rescue work. It is so very much needed. Yes, those are beautiful dogs. Love the pics.

Thank-you for the rescue work. It is so very much needed. Yes, those are beautiful dogs. Love the pics.